New Delhi: Cash benefits of more than 500 government schemes are being directly credited to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday.

Addressing an event here, he said the government has done away with many of the obsolete rules in order to facilitate the ease of doing business.

Kant said that complex rules and regulations operating in India in the past were a constraint, an official statement said. He stressed upon the significance of demographic dividend and inclusive growth in India. The Niti Aayog CEO said that growth can only be sustainable only if it is inclusive.

He said that there have been various factors contributing to the unsustainable growth in India, such as significant variation in inter-state and inter-district parameters, which needs to be addressed.

Speaking about the opportunity that demographic dividend in India is providing, Kant said that more than 70 percent of India's population is below 35 years, thus giving an advantage over other countries. "We must realize this opportunity," he added.

A file photo of Amitabh Kant. IBN Live

The Niti Aayog CEO was delivering a lecture organised by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) here on the topic Transformation of Aspirational Districts -- a New India by 2022.

Kant also spoke about various structural changes brought about by the government, such as DBT, implementation of GST and the Insolvency Code, among others.

"Speaking about the digitisation initiative of the government, he said that it will bring more transparency in the system; for example benefits of more than 500 Government schemes is being directly credited in the accounts of the beneficiaries using the Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT)," the statement said.

Kant said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NITI Aayog has adopted a focused approach for the transformation of aspirational districts.

He said that 49 indicators have been selected out of 500 parameters for 200 identified districts and these districts are ranked based on their performance on each of these selected indicators.

Data on various parameters of progress is being constantly monitored and updated, Kant said.

"There are specific initiatives which need to be implemented to improve the ranking of a district, which has been spelled out too. The purpose is to motivate the districts to compete among themselves and perform in the direction of transformation on various parameters such as health and nutrition, education, agriculture & water resources, financial inclusion and basic infrastructure, among others," it said.

He also spoke on the success stories of various districts which have performed to bring their ranking up amongst these aspirational districts.

To achieve the growth on a sustainable basis, he said, there should be a team spirit among states and the Centre.

The central government has nominated senior officers from the government as Prabhari' officers to assist the district officers and to take up the challenge of transforming these aspirational districts.

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